Category: Public Relations

BGR Group Names Jo Maney Chief of Marketing and Engagement

Posted on by Anna Sullivan

Washington, D.C., (January 30, 2024) — BGR Group, the premier lobbying and communications firm in the nation’s capital, today promoted Jo Maney to the newly created position of Chief of Marketing and Engagement.

Jo will oversee advertising and promotion for BGR Group, manage the brand and the extensive content produced by BGR’s practices, and continue to lead the firm’s public engagement. She will remain a principal in BGR’s Public Relations practice, BGR Group’s communications company, and the president of the BGR Foundation.

“BGR is thrilled Jo has agreed to take on this new responsibility, which will help us continue to grow and innovate,” said Erskine Wells, president of BGR Group. “We wanted a strategic, respected, and dedicated colleague to head our engagement efforts. Jo was the natural choice.”

Jo has been with BGR Public Relations for 12 years. She previously worked as communications director for the House Rules Committee under Chairman David Dreier (R-California) and in other congressional offices prior to that. Her new position takes effect immediately.

About BGR Group (www.bgrdc.com)

Founded in 1991, BGR Group is a premier government affairs and public relations firm with offices in Washington, D.C., Austin, Texas, London and now Atlanta, Georgia. BGR specializes in three key areas: bipartisan government affairs, strategic communications, and business advisory services. BGR brings together some of the most accomplished policy experts, public opinion influencers, and issue advocates from across the political spectrum.

Principal Jo Maney Named BGR Foundation President

Posted on by LFontaine

January 11, 2022 – BGR Group, one of Washington, D.C.’s premier bipartisan lobbying and communications firms, today announced that Jo Maney, a principal at BGR Public Relations, has been named president of the BGR Foundation. Through the BGR Foundation, BGR and its employees support many important charitable causes and have stepped up donations during the pandemic including to the Salvation Army, the March of Dimes, Soldiers‘ Angels, and Feed the Fight, which buys meals from local restaurants and delivers them to frontline workers. Over the last decade, the Foundation has distributed more than $2.5 million.

Jo joined BGR Public Relations in July 2012. She uses her insider knowledge of Congress and her expertise in strategic communications to assist BGR clients. Jo also leads BGR Group’s marketing efforts and has become a familiar face on BGR interview videos, which the firm disseminates online.

“We’re thrilled that Jo has agreed to take on this important responsibility for the firm,” said BGR Group chairman and CEO Bob Wood. “She has a keen understanding of the Washington community and has been instrumental in broadening the charities the foundation has helped in recent years. She is exactly the right person to take on this important leadership role.”

“I’m honored to take on this new assignment,” Jo said. “BGR is already a force for good, but there is more work to do. I look forward to assisting BGR play a larger role in helping the Greater Washington community, especially related to the challenges created by COVID-19.”

Prior to joining BGR, Jo was the longtime Communications Director for the House Rules Committee, the influential panel that serves as the traffic cop for all significant legislation that moves through the House of Representatives. As the chief spokeswoman for the committee and Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) from 2000 to 2012, Jo provided strategic advice to members of Congress and staff and interacted daily with national and international television, print, online and radio reporters.

Jo also worked for two years for former representative Dan Miller (R-Fla.) and the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Census. Jo attended Florida State University where she received bachelor’s degrees in English Literature and Political Science.

CONTACT: Jeff Birnbaum
jbirnbaum@bgrpr.com
202-661-6367

Largest Lobbying Firms in Greater D.C.

Posted on by LFontaine
Washington Business Journal

BGR Group ranked third in largest lobbying firm in greater D.C. based on 2020 income.

 

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BGR Group Recognized as “Standout Firm” in Bloomberg 2020 Survey

Posted on by LFontaine

Washington, D.C. (May 28, 2021) – BGR Group, Washington, D.C.’s premier bipartisan lobbying and public relations firm, has once again been recognized as a Standout Firm by Bloomberg Government. BGR Group ranks second on the list. According to Bloomberg Government, “Standout firms are defined as firms that displayed impressive performance in 2020 by exceeding thresholds in key metrics: revenue growth, growth in average revenue per client, client retention, and revenue per lobbyist.” This is the fourth consecutive year BGR Group has been named as a Standout Firm by the Bloomberg Survey.

“BGR is proud of our continued record of service to our clients, particularly during the pandemic,” BGR Group President and CEO Bob Wood said. “Over our thirty-year history, BGR has provided consistent and quality results. We are honored to work with clients across multiple issue areas ranging from healthcare to financial services to state and local affairs. As indicated by the survey, our client retention and addition of new clients in a challenging year was exceptional. Our outstanding team of bipartisan policy and public relations professionals continues to grow and achieve success for our clients.”

Established in 1991, BGR Group has offices in Washington, Austin, Beijing and London, and extensive business relationships around the world. The bipartisan firm’s clients include Fortune 500 companies, foreign governments, trade associations, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, hospitals and coalitions. The BGR team includes former senior-level appointees in the White House, Congress and Executive Branch departments and agencies. BGR’s staffers are veterans of political campaigns at the presidential, congressional and gubernatorial levels. In these key roles, team members gained expertise in public policy, strategic thinking, effective advocacy and delivering results. BGR Public Relations team members have dozens of years of experience at the highest levels of journalism as well as in political, corporate and international communications. Working together, BGR Group’s Government Affairs and Public Relations teams communicate our clients’ needs and help them achieve success.

Read the full report HERE. 

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BGR Views: The Latest Political Polls II

Posted on by LFontaine

Jeff Birnbaum, president of BGR Public Relations, interviews John McIntyre, BGR Advisory Board member and CEO of RealClearPolitics about current political races.

 

BGR Views: Frank Ahrens Interviews AFP Correspondent Shaun Tandon

Posted on by LFontaine

Frank Ahrens and Shaun Tandon talk about how U.S. journalists cover foreign affairs and foreign countries from Washington D.C.

BGR’s Polling Outlook for President, Senate

Posted on by LFontaine

Jeff Birnbaum, president of BGR Public Relations, interviews John McIntyre, BGR Advisory Board member and CEO of RealClearPolitics about current polling.

BGR Views: The Latest Political Polls from BGR Group on Vimeo.

BGR PR Principal Frank Ahrens on Hyundai’s use of K-pop Superstars BTS Branding Power

Posted on by LFontaine

FORBES

September 1, 2020

By Frank Ahrens

Hyundai Motor could not have better-timed the announcement that it is turning its little-known trio of Ioniq cars into a sub-brand. Why? Because the brand has partnered with K-pop superstar group BTS, which is basically the biggest thing in entertainment on the planet at this moment.

On September 1, BTS and Hyundai debuted a music video called, “Ioniq: I’m On It,” designed to promote the new sub-brand, which was launched in August.

Song lyrics include: “Full energy/higher esteem/better focus on what’s charging me.” So far, it has nearly 1 million views. This may seem like a lot, but BTS does these kinds of numbers before breakfast.

The Korean group launched its first English-language music video, “Dynamite,” on August 20. In the first 24 hours, it logged 101 million views, breaking a YouTube record. By September 1, the video had 269 million views. Yes — more than one-quarter of a billion. BTS are not just the most popular K-Pop band; they are among the most popular groups in the world. “Dynamite” recently won multiple trophies at MTV’s Video Music Awards, beating out Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. BTS fans – known as the BTS ARMY — are global, multi-racial, attuned to social justice issues and are political activists.

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A humble guide to the election – by BGR PR President Jeffery Birnbaum

Posted on by ironcore

The Hill

June 29, 2020
BY JEFFREY H. BIRNBAUM

Three words rarely uttered in Washington should become its new mantra. They are: “I don’t know.”

The 2016 presidential election and the timing of this year’s pandemic should have cured the nation’s capital of making predictions. Yet prognostication remains a staple of public discourse.

That’s a shame. When someone confidently projects who will win the presidential election this year, the appropriate response is to politely turn away and do something else. Nobody knows what’s going to happen.

At the same time, a few considerations grounded in past elections — but short of soothsaying — have a chance of holding up.

The first is: Whatever is important today won’t be as important five months from now.

The public’s attention is riveted by something new almost every week. But that changes all the time. Injustice against Blacks, the economy’s decline, and the need to defeat COVID-19 are challenges that won’t disappear. But significant new issues surely will emerge by November and, to repeat, we don’t know what they’ll be.

Second, watching the news is not a good way to guess who will win the election.

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In Coronavirus Crisis, South Korea Shows How Government PR is Done

Posted on by ironcore

PR News

March 16, 2020

BY FRANK AHRENS

At its core PR is about relating information to the public. Few governments are doing that better than South Korea as it battles coronavirus.

South Korea wouldn’t think of its transparency and rapid communication of information as public relations. But PR pros recognize South Korea’s use of openness and transparency. They would admire its tactics, speed and technology.

Outside of China and Italy, coronavirus has hit no country harder than South Korea. More than 82,00 cases are reported (as of March 16, 2020). Fortunately, new cases have been trending down in recent days.

Communications Helping

The nation’s success against the virus is attributable in part to the varied, transparent and innovative ways the government has been communicating. Importantly, the communication is aimed at citizens and foreigners living in the country. Some highlights:

The Korean Centers for Disease Control conducts twice-daily briefings in English. In addition, it is offering daily updates in English. Seoul-based international media has lauded these briefings.

Every campaign needs a slogan. The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs created one based on the acronym TRUST. Some of the language is clunky (as in any document a committee creates), but it effectively outlines five pillars of the government’s response.

Testing and Convenience

Testing also has played a major role. The nation of 51 million has conducted more than 222,000 tests, far more than any other country – including China – per capita. South Korea has made testing free for anyone who wants a test and has made it convenient.

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